Bracing According to Best Practice Standards – Are the Results Repeatable?

Abstract

Background: As has been demonstrated before bracing concepts in use today for the treatment of scoliosis include symmetric and asymmetric hard braces usually made of polyethylene (PE) and soft braces. The plaster cast method worldwide seems to be the most practiced technique for the construction of hard braces at the moment. CAD/ CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) systems are available which allow brace adjustments without plaster. As in the Ukraine the CAD/CAM technology is not affordable, we have tried to build our hand made braces according to this standard via cast modelling. Aim of this study is to compare in-brace corrections of our brace built according to Best Practice Chêneau standards by hand with the published results available in literature on Chêneau braces. In-brace correction and compliance clearly determine the outcome of bracing. Therefore the inbrace correction is one of the most important parameters to estimate brace quality.

A correlation study between in-brace correction, compliance to spinal orthosis and health-related quality of life of patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

“…The better the in-brace correction, the better the end result. In fact, in-brace correction is negatively related to curve magnitude [18]. Poor results can be due to poor bracing and this could be verified through in-brace radiographs to assess the obtained correction.…”

Bracing scoliosis: The evolution to CAD/CAM for improved in-brace corrections

“…Patients included were from November 2011 to December 2012. In-brace correction from this sample has been compared to the in-brace correction of other Chêneau samples as published in literature 11,13,15,[18][19][20][21] .…”

“…The purpose of this study is to compare in-brace correction of the CAD/CAM series as currently applied to the Chêneau series as presented in literature previously 13 .…”

“…A recent study reveals that not all Chêneau braces are of comparable quality or have the ability to achieve the same in-brace correction. Borysov have demonstrated the capability to attain a high standard with handmade braces using the plaster technique 13 , however, the outcomes of Chêneau braces created elsewhere have varied significantly; between…”

Bracing Scoliosis - State of the Art (Mini-Review)

“…There are at present many different braces on the market. There are symmetrical [8,[12][13][14][15][16][17] and asymmetrical braces [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], rigid and soft braces [27], full time braces and nighttime braces. These braces have different biomechanical corrective principles, with varying effectiveness in halting progression of curvatures.…”